Salt survey: AoS slams UK out-of-home restaurant meals for exceeding daily limit for children’s meals

14 May 2024 --- Action on Salt (AoS) reveals that 37% of children’s main meals sold in the out-of-home (OOH) sector are found to exceed the maximum salt target previously set by the UK government.

With diets high in salt being a major risk factor for raised blood pressure in both children and adults, this new research, undertaken for Salt Awareness Week (May 13–19), underpins the call for the UK in government and businesses in the country to prioritize children’s health. 

Among the findings, AoS flags that nearly 50% of children’s meals sold in the OOH sector provide at least half of a child’s daily limit for salt — with some dishes containing more than a child’s entire day’s worth of salt in just one meal. 

It has also been revealed that one in five businesses do not disclose the salt content of their meals online and out of the businesses investigated, only six are fully compliant with the government’s voluntary salt target for children’s meals, set to be achieved by the end of 2024. 

Should mandatory targets be set?
Experts are now urging clearer labeling on children’s menus and mandatory salt reduction targets across all food sectors, including OOH. 

Reducing salt in diets is one of the most effective ways to reduce blood pressure and improve health. Eating too much salt as a child can increase the risk of developing high blood pressure.Speaking to Food Ingredients First, Sonia Pombo, registered nutritionist and campaign lead at AoS, tells us: “Over the last ten years, we have surveyed restaurants and consistently flagged the excessive levels of salt, calories and fats in their meals. We previously surveyed children’s meals in 2019 and wanted to explore if any progress had been made in this sector.”

Research shows people are eating out more, and this is likely to have an effect not only on calories but also salt, she remarks. 

“We know the OOH sector is lagging behind the rest of the food industry in terms of salt reduction. There is also a clear lack of transparency, with many businesses still not disclosing the full nutrition information of their meals, and this makes it difficult to monitor progress toward salt reduction targets.”

AoS is now urging food businesses to prioritize their customer’s health and improve the nutritional quality of the meals they serve. “As a minimum, they should be doing what they can to reduce the salt content of children’s meals and working toward the salt reduction target of 1.71 g per meal, which is still more than half of a child’s daily limit for salt,” notes Pombo. 

“Many companies are not being transparent and therefore should make it easier for customers to make the healthier choice by providing nutrition information at the point of purchase, not just calories. Nutrition tables are required by law on food packaging, and it should be no different for the OOH sector.”

According to Pombo, government intervention is long overdue. “For too long, they have allowed the food industry to oversee public health at our expense. “A comprehensive and mandatory salt reduction program, including targets, financial incentives and/or penalties, will ensure that all companies commit to salt reduction in the UK,” she underscores.

Health issues arise 
Evidence shows that salt increases blood pressure, which leads to thousands of unnecessary deaths from cardiovascular disease. 

Regularly eating too much salt puts us at increased risk of developing high blood pressure, the biggest risk factor for strokes and heart disease. It’s also the most common cause of death and disability worldwide. 

“We are all eating too much salt, including children, which is increasing the risk of illness later in life. The earlier we adapt to a lower salt diet, the less damage we create for our hearts, but unfortunately, younger generations are increasingly being exposed to foods high in salt, sugar and calories, making these ‘options’ the norm,” explains Pombo. 

Key findings 
Of the 37 OOH eateries included in the research, only 29 provided accessible nutrition information for customers in conjunction with the legislation set by the UK government in 2021 on calorie labeling which applies to large businesses. 

Gourmet Burger Kitchen was the restaurant with the highest overall salt content in their children’s meals (averaging 3.06 g per meal), whereas the worst offender for the children’s meal with the highest salt content was Bella Italia’s larger vegan margherita pizza with 4.4 g salt — which is more than double the amount of salt as a shop-bought pizza. 

Given that one in two (49%) main meals sold in the OOH sector contain more than half of a child’s (aged 4-6) daily limit for salt, more robust measures should be introduced to ensure families can make informed, healthier choices when it comes to eating out.Restaurant and takeaway foods are much higher in salt, as well as calories and fats.

Interestingly, similar meals had varying levels of salt depending on the company. For example, sausage meals from Hungry Horse had four times more salt than those served at Wetherspoon. 

This demonstrates that it is possible to produce meals with less salt, including burgers and pizza, and should be prioritized when planning children’s menus, says AoS.

It’s not just salt that’s high 
Many of the meals were also found to have excessive levels of calories, fat and saturated fat, with approximately one in three dishes exceeding a third of a child’s maximum daily limit for calories and saturated fat. 

The main meal with the highest calorie content was the Hungry Horse double cheeseburger with chips, peas and corn, containing 906 kcal — that’s 66% of a child’s daily limit. Prezzo’s gluten-free fusilli carbonara contained 21 g saturated fat.

John Maingay, director of policy and influencing at the British Heart Foundation, adds: “Eating too much salt as a child can increase the risk of developing high blood pressure as an adult, and this increases the chance of having a future heart attack or stroke.” 

“There is a clear case for helping families eat more healthily by taking salt out of food before it ends up on our plates, at home and when eating out. If the food industry will not lower the salt content of their products, the UK government will need to step in to protect the health of future generations.”

By Elizabeth Green